


How We Got Here

by lionessvalenti



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Conversations, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Past Riley/Sam Wilson, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Wedding Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:14:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29152587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionessvalenti/pseuds/lionessvalenti
Summary: Bucky and Sam let out a few feelings after their wedding.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson
Comments: 8
Kudos: 55
Collections: Shotgun Wedding Flash Exchange





	How We Got Here

**Author's Note:**

  * For [textbookchoices](https://archiveofourown.org/users/textbookchoices/gifts).



Not much had changed on the surface. Sam and Bucky decided not to wear rings, and neither one of them changed their names. In five days they were going to be on completely different continents as they went back to work. They didn't have a ceremony. It was some paperwork and quiet exchanging of vows in a Maryland courthouse. Their witnesses were Sam's mother and the princess of Wakanda.

Beneath the surface, everything had changed. They were _married_. They made promises to each other and literally signed their names to those promises. They had decided they wanted to make a lifelong commitment to each other and did exactly that. No matter the distance between them, they were bound together in the promise they made.

It made for a long day.

The first thing Bucky did when he walked into the hotel room was kick off his shoes and flop backwards on the king size bed. The memory foam cradled him, not letting him sink too deeply into the mattress, or the extra soft pillows.

"You're going to bed already?" Sam asked as he tossed the contents of his pockets onto the TV stand. His wallet, keys, and phone all in a pile. It was his signal that he was settling in. Nowhere else to go when Sam's wallet was out of his pocket on the table.

Bucky smiled. "I'm tired. You married an old man."

Sam left his shoes at the foot of the bed and crawled to Bucky. His hands were warm as they cupped Bucky's face. "Damn right I did."

Bucky tilted his face up and caught Sam's mouth in a brief kiss. "And you're exhausted too. You barely slept last night."

"Too excited." Sam turned and carefully lowered his back onto Bucky's chest, sitting so his head was just beneath Bucky's chin. "I was so ready for this."

"I never thought I'd get here," Bucky said as he wrapped his arm around Sam's chest. 

"Because I'm too good looking for you?" Sam asked.

Bucky snorted. "Yes, that's exactly it. And you know, when I was growing up, being gay was illegal. There were couples. People cohabitated. But the idea that I could get married wasn't something I thought to want. It wasn't something that was even possible."

Sam was quiet for a second. "What did you think you were going to do? Assuming that you were going to come home from the war."

"Oh, I don't know. Keep my head down. You could get away with being a roguish bachelor if you played it right. Or maybe marry a woman, if it came to that. I was never completely opposed to the idea. It was all hypothetical anyway. It's not like I had someone special."

A silence fell between them. Bucky might not have had someone special, but Sam did.

Sam never talked that much about Riley. He told stories, like anyone did about their service, and Riley was the centerpiece to all of them. But to the untrained ear, Riley could have been just a buddy, Sam's wingman, and not someone Sam had intended to marry once they got out. They had been together through the last few years of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and maybe it had become so ingrained to make it sound like something it wasn't that he couldn't stop, even years later. It had been all but illegal for them, too. Every story, every memory, it was all still framed in the little bit of fear. 

There wasn't a damn thing Bucky could do about any of it, except listen. He liked to listen.

"Sam—"

"I'm fine," Sam said softly.

"I know. But it's okay if you're not. This is allowed to be bittersweet."

"I know it's _allowed_ , but it's not." Sam reached up and squeezed Bucky's hand. "Just happy."

Bucky kissed the top of Sam's head. "Good."

"I guess I didn't think I'd get here either. And here we are. If you really think about it, neither one of us would be here if the worst thing that ever happened to us hadn't happened." Sam didn't sound sad or regretful. It was more introspective than anything.

Bucky tightened his hold around Sam anyway. "If you _really_ think about it, everyone is where they are because of the worst thing that ever happened to them. And the best thing. And all those things you can't quantify. All you can do is keep moving forward, the best way you know how."

Sam wriggled out of Bucky's grasp and turned onto his side so they could look at each other, face-to-face. "Are you really telling me you're that wise?"

"I've always been that wise. Isn't that why you married me?" Bucky furrowed his brow, trying to make a show of it. It was always easy, shifting from the heavy topics to something lighter, and maybe back again if they didn't fall asleep first.

"Are you kidding me? I thought you were hot and stupid. You're smart? I may have to call up that justice of the peace and ask for a do-over."

Bucky cracked up. He slung both of his arms around Sam's neck and pulled him close. "You asshole," he mumbled as Sam kissed the side of his head. "I'm happier than I've been in my entire life."

Sam smiled. Bucky couldn't see it, Sam's face buried in the crook of his shoulder, but he could feel the stretch of Sam's lips against his skin. "Good. Now, are you going to fuck me or what?"

"No. I want to stay just like this." Bucky couldn't even imagine moving enough to take off his pants, let alone enough to have sex. "I'll get you in the morning. In the shower, maybe. First married blowjob."

Sam hmmed a quiet agreement as he relaxed against Bucky's chest. "That works too."


End file.
